Raspberry Cake with Whipped Cream and Pink Meringues

In some areas of Central Italy, there is still a custom of going from house to house adorned with garlands on the first night of May, playing and singing merry tunes to welcome the warm season.

I’m bringing this up – kind of randomly – because this morning I woke up with a verse stuck in my head: it’s from an Italian children’s poem about the months of the year that I learned in kindergarten, and the part about May goes “Maggio di canti risuona” (May resonates with songs).

While I’m not the type to go around the neighborhood with a lute serenading strangers (my fellow Manhattanites would call the police), I am all for celebrating this beautiful month, which I associate with a variety of pleasant concepts.

At last, the sun is out, the bees are buzzing, the birds are chirping, and the flowers in Central Park are blooming…. but not only that: at the risk of sounding very self-involved, I’m excited because my birthday and Mother’s day also come this month. I’m not sure about resonating with songs – but it sure will smell like cakes!

Now, talking about birthdays, I am turning 44 and becoming a little nostalgic. I became twenty in the Eighties, and while here in the US the cake that best represents that era of excess is probably cheesecake -in some 7-layer variation -, in Italy we had Meringata, a sinfully rich dessert made of layers of meringue combined with tons of whipped cream – the Pavlova’s Italian cousin.

Meringata was the dessert of choice to share with your date in any Northern Italian piano bar or panini bar. The main downside of those types of cakes (besides the fact that they can induce a diabetic coma) is that they need to be assembled a short time prior to consumption, or the meringue will dissolve in the cream. That’s why I picked this alternative, which tastes less sugary and can be made the day before and transported easily.

Cakes made of layers of pan di Spagna (genoise) or pastafrolla (pastry dough) alternating with whipped cream and strawberries or other berries are also served in many areas of Italy for the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which coincidentally falls in May.

You can buy the pink meringues or make them with this recipe: http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/rachel-allen/pink-meringues-with-raspberry-cream.html

Preheat an oven to 360°F. Line the bottom of a 9- inch springform pan with parchment.

Whisk the eggs and sugar just until combined in the bowl of your stand mixer. Place the bowl over (not touching) a pot of simmering water, and whisk gently for about 3 minutes. Transfer the bowl to the mixer and whisk at high speed until pale, frothy and fluffy (7-8 minutes).

Sift the flour over the mixture in 2 separate additions (incorporate the first half with a spatula, before adding the second half). Add the melted butter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top of the cake is golden (do the toothpick test). Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before inverting it. Cut the cake into 2 equal layers before removing the parchment. Put the first layer (cut side up) on a platter.

To make the syrup, boil the water with the granulated sugar and the lemon zest for about 3-5 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool.

Whip the cream with the confectioners' sugar until it forms soft peaks. Place half of the raspberries or cut strawberries in a bowl, and combine them with about one-fourth of the raspberries. Brush the first cake layerwith syrup and spread with the cream/berry mix.. Top with the remaining cake layer, cut side down, and peel off the parchment. Brush the top with more syrup, spread the top and sides with the remaining whipped cream.

Arrange the remaining berries and meringues on top and around the cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Welcome to Dinner In Venice. Here in my "Cucina Italiana" I will share with you my favorite recipes and their origins. Join me over the stovetop, or just curl up on the couch while I pour you a virtual caffe', or a glass of sparkling Prosecco. Are you ready?